as in to pick at
to subject (someone) to constant scoldings and sharp reminders
kept pecking at their prodigal daughter to get off the couch and to start looking for a job
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peck (at)
Verb
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But the proposal, controversial for its potential impact on the climate, has also been dogged by long-standing doubts about its commercial viability, with ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhilips backing out of the project in 2016.—
Max Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2025 -
But it’s been dogged by controversy over resurfaced racist tweets by trans star Gascón.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Smirk flies under the banner Make Fun, Not War and delights to needle and tweak the NFL and the gravitas of its Big Game.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
7 Feb. 2025
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That’s also the case for Peter Doocy, the White House correspondent who relished needling President Biden and his aides, and will now be scrutinized for his handling of Mr. Trump.—
Michael M. Grynbaum,
New York Times,
19 Jan. 2025
Verb
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My agent was the one who pretty much begged me to just go out and try it and audition.—
Katie Arnold-Ratliff,
Curbed,
27 Feb. 2025
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Cal Fire captain begged for mercy during slaying captured on video, officials say.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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On Tuesday morning Vice President J.D. Vance huddled in a closed door conference meeting with House Republicans and urged them to back the measure.—
Claudia Grisales,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2025
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But rights groups welcomed Duterte’s detention and urged the Philippines to hand the former president over to the ICC.—
Kathleen Magramo,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Nevertheless, a little voice in the back of your head seems to be nagging you about something.—
Georgia Nicols,
The Denver Post,
4 Mar. 2025
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In the 2010s, the developmental scientist Ron Dahl and Jennifer Silk, a University of Pittsburgh psychology professor, started wondering what went on inside adolescents’ brains when their parents nagged them.—
Jenny Anderson,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Gathering at Scripps Research’s third annual Pandemic Preparedness Symposium last week, researchers working in virology and chemistry did not bother to debate whether or not H5N1 avian influenza will clear this rapidly shrinking hurdle.—
Paul Sisson,
The Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2025
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As Caro settled into life in a new country, one thing often bothered him.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Jarred Vanderbilt set the tone by hounding him the length of the court, picking up fouls away from the ball.—
Bennett Durando,
The Denver Post,
23 Feb. 2025
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Image Can a celebrity ever just wear a ring on her ring finger without being hounded?—
Sadiba Hasan,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Peck (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peck%20%28at%29. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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